


True Colours

by Yulicia



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, Humour, Hux's Hair Was Not Harmed In The Making Of This Fanfiction, Kiss a Ginger Day, M/M, or at least an attempt at it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 23:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13351554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yulicia/pseuds/Yulicia
Summary: Kylo loves Kiss a Ginger Day, as strange as the holiday was. Any opportunity to rile up Hux was a good opportunity. However, this year Hux has a plan, one that turns the tables on Ren in ways he hadn't quite anticipated.





	True Colours

To anywhere else in the galaxy today was just any other day. To the moisture farmer of Tatooine it was just another day of work, to a party goer on Canto Bight it was another day of leisure, to the gungan’s of Naboo it was another day beneath the waves and to the people of Arkanis it was just another day of rain, but, to the First Order crew aboard the Finalizer today was something truly special.

It was January twelfth.

Kylo loved January twelfth like no one else on the Finalizer did. Why? Because no day in the entire galactic calendar riled up Hux quite as much as ‘Kiss a Ginger Day’. And there was no thing Kylo liked more than seeing Hux all flustered and frustrated. In fact he’d probably classify getting under Hux’s skin as a hobby he liked it so much.

‘Kiss a Ginger Day’ was not actually an official holiday within the First Order ranks. Kylo wasn’t even sure if any other Star Destroyer celebrated it beyond the walls of the Finalizer. Hux had once tried to ban the holiday, threating partakers with reconditioning. But, with Kylo having the power he did was able to counteract that command and so the holiday remained.

Hux was in a uniquely bothersome position in regards to the theme of the day in that he was quite literally the only person on the Finalizer with his hair that colour. It was a unique colour to the world of Arkanis, where Kylo (through what was probably very illegal snooping) knew Hux was from and even then it was quite rare. There had been a single other officer who had had the same colouring once but the last Kylo had heard she’d been reassigned to another Star Destroyer in the fleet. The only others who hailed from that planet were some of the younger officers and now they came only in an array of blondes and browns, not a ginger head among them.

Kylo knew that the moment Hux walked through that bridge door he’d have daring officers and even more daring Stormtroopers attempting to partake in the strange unofficial holiday and that he’d be a bright, copper target. It was something of a bragging right to say that you had partook in ‘Kiss a Ginger Day’. It meant that you had gotten close enough to the General to steal a peck on his cheek without him killing you. It was quite the honour and some considered the twenty minute lecture and three weeks of scrubbing the Finalizer bathrooms with the droids worth it.

Watching the bridge crew mill around doing their little tasks without Hux’s watchful eye Kylo let his thoughts wander. He’d missed the first ‘Kiss a Ginger Day’ he was within the Order for, having arrived later in the year. It was not until the year after that that Kylo had really seen it in action.

It had been, simply put, chaos. Hux, only a Captain under the previous General at the time, held a far less imposing figure than he did now. Hux had been free game; a tantalising tangerine that everyone had wanted a taste of. Kylo remembered the bright red flush that had coloured Hux’s cheek at the day’s first peck. He remembered the ‘troopers purpling black eye from where Hux had punched him for it. He remembered the true fear in Hux’s eyes that had haunted him until midnight that night. He’d remembered feeling intoxicated by that darkness, the feeling like no other he’d experienced.

(He also remembered how jealous he’d been of that Stormtrooper whose lips had grazed Hux’s cheek. He remembered the tingle of that _want_ in him; something that only grew stronger and stronger every year.)

Kylo blinked, the thought drawing him out of his daydreaming. He shook his head, clearing his mind. He looked around the bridge, seeing that Hux was still absent. He looked at the time on a nearby datapad and saw that it was well beyond the time Hux was due for the start of his shift. That struck Kylo as quite strange. Hux was never late.

Before his mind could jump to silly conclusions like kidnapping and death he turned to Captain Peavey, who was standing towards the end of the boardwalk.

“Where’s General Hux?”

Peavey didn’t seem to flinch at Kylo’s voice like some of the other officers did. It both frustrated and delighted Kylo. “Late, I assume, sir.”

Kylo’s brows furrowed at that but with his mask concealing his expression he knew Peavey couldn’t see it. It didn’t matter. The expression wasn’t for Peavey anyway.

“Has he sent a reason through as to why?”

Peavey checked his datapad, shaking his head. Kylo could feel the discomfort coming off of Peavey in waves. He hated Hux and couldn’t believe he was being forced to answer to Kylo Ren of all people for one of his mistakes. That thought made Kylo smile beneath the helmet. It was always fun messing with the older officers. Their minds and intentions were always so transparent if one bothered to look.

“No, sir,” Peavey replied, “Would you like me to send someone to fetch him?”

“No, that’s quite alright, Captain. I’m sure Hux will make it here on his own time.”

Kylo really hoped the reason Hux couldn’t get to the bridge is because he was having to battle his way through affection in the hallways. That’d be the best possible outcome and quite honestly seemed far more plausible than something so un-Hux as ‘he overslept’.

Just as Peavey was about to open his mouth to say something more Kylo picked up on the tell-tale empty force signature of Hux. He heard the clipped footsteps a moment later. Kylo turned, ready to watch the chaos of ‘Kiss a Ginger day’ rain fire down on Hux’s pretty little head.

“Ah, General, so good of—“ Kylo’s sentence was cut abruptly short as he finally got a good look at Hux. He was dressed in his regular uniform, pressed and folded to perfection, his boots shined to an almost excessive glow. He looked quite regular if one did not consider his hair.

His hair that was black.

Hux’s hair was black.

Gone were the wonderful bright orange strands that made Hux a beacon of light amongst the overwhelming black of The First Order. Instead, in their place was a head of completely ebon hair, darker than even Kylo’s own. It was so dark that Kylo thought that if he looked at it long enough constellations might appear within the void dark tresses. He’d even dyed his eyebrows. There wasn’t a single strand of visible ginger hair left on him.

“Apologies for my tardiness, Ren, I had some business to attend to first,” Hux said in the guise of politeness but Kylo could see the smug satisfaction behind the General’s seemingly neutral face. Hux was awfully pleased with himself for this plan. He practically radiated joy. It was weird.

Kylo’s mouth gaped open and he was glad that his mask completely concealed his shock. “Your hair,” Kylo said, the words seeming to fall off his tongue without his permission.

“Yes, what about it, Ren?” Hux’s nose was already buried in his datapad. He wasn’t actually looking at anything, Kylo just knew Hux wanted to be extra sure he showed he wasn’t interested in what Kylo had to say.

“It’s quite the change.”

Hux’s head perked up, looking to Ren. His eyeline fell in the same place it usually did on the mask – just a little bit too high to meet Kylo’s eyes.  “Oh. I suppose it is.”

Kylo stepped closer to Hux, lowering his voice so that his next words could only be heard by Hux. “You think you’re very clever don’t you?”

A ghost of a smile crossed Hux’s lips before he hid it away. This was familiar, this strange dance they did. Kylo might’ve even called it flirting at a stretch. “I might.”

Kylo growled, the sound pulled deep from within his chest. Hux raised an eyebrow at the sound, flinching only slightly.

“You seem upset, Ren? Did you prefer it the way it was?” Hux’s words were innocuous by his tone was dripping with mockery. Hux stepped even closer, his face mere inches from the front of Kylo’s mask. The shadow of Kylo’s hood grazed across Hux’s nose, darkening his face as he had artificially darkened his hair. “You know you don’t need a silly holiday to kiss me, right?”

Kylo blinked. “Where did you get the idea that I would want to?”

Hux shrugged. “I took a guess. Are you opposed? I can step back.”

Hux made his way to step backward, ready to press his weight back against his heel. Kylo fumbled, catching the edge of his coat in his fist. To his credit Hux didn’t make a sound at the jostling, only stared.

“No!” Kylo cried, “I’m not. I’m not ‘opposed’, as you say.”

The edge of Hux’s lips curled slightly upwards in the beginning of a smile. Hux took a quick cursory glance around the bridge, seeing that everyone was either absorbed in their work or at least desperately pretending to be. Turning back he leaned forward, knowing no one was watching and pressed his lips quickly against the bill of Kylo’s faceplate. He lingered there only for a moment before he pulled away.

Kylo couldn’t feel it but he had to swallow a gasp anyway. He could hear Hux breathing, even if he couldn’t feel it. This was closer than he thought they’d ever been before. He hadn’t expected it to have such an effect on him. He’d been expecting to find delight in Hux’s own embarrassment today but it appears as though the tables had rather severely turned.     

“21:00. My quarters. I expect you to be on time.” Hux’s voice was low, quiet so that he couldn’t be heard by nosey officers. Kylo nodded, the gesture quick and clumsy. Kylo didn’t like that. He hadn’t been clumsy in years.   

As Hux turned to leave, reading to attend to his other duties on board Kylo stopped him with a quick hand. “I did like it better before.”

There was a slight pause as Hux decided to absolutely milk the moment. He looked so proud Kylo wanted to either punch him or kiss him he wasn’t sure which.

‘”It’s temporary. It’ll be gone in a week.”  

And with that Hux was gone and Kylo was left to stand where he had been left at the edge of the bridge, staring out of the viewport. Today had gone even better than expected.

He might still have to wipe a few officers’ minds though. He wasn’t entirely sure all of them had been as oblivious as they’d made themselves out to be.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Stardestroyervigilance on tumblr and @yulicia0 on twitter if you want to come say hi!


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